(originally released to Lawsuit Supporters, Friends, Japanese Friends, and
several human rights lists on Thursday, May 10, 2001. More elaborate report to follow.)

Hello Lawsuit Supporters. This is a shorter report (longer one in English to follow
when I have time) to tell you what happened last weekend during our survey of exclusionary
establishments in Wakkanai and Monbetsu.

On Thurs, May 3, Ken, Olaf, and I tried to get into Yuransen, the onsen with the
separate facilities for foreigners at seven times the price (http://www.debito.org/photosubstantiation.html#WAKKANAI).
After we bought a ticket and entered the genkan, we realized the owners knew who
I was by face (they had even watched TV show Koko Ga Hen) and said that I may enter,
now that I am a Japanese citizen. When I asked about my friends, we were referred
again to Head Manager Mr Ohshima, who said, "Now that you are a Japanese, you
can explain the rules to your friends. You can all go in." I questioned the
logic of that judgement (Ken, Olaf, and I have all been living in Japan about the
same amount of time, and Olaf is even a Permanent Resident; realistically, the only
difference between them and me is my Japanese passport). When does only the dint
of citizenship qualify somebody to explain bathing rules? I said that I was not willing
to support a system this absurd with my money. So what about Ken and Olaf now? Ohshima:
"I said they can go into the Japanese section, so they can go in." (I might
add that the presence of HBC, a HTB TV camera and a Doshin reporter might have tipped
the scales in our favor a bit.) Anyway, we were not refused entry, but the separate
systems, Mr Ohshima said, will be maintained.

I also checked two other former excluders, Shidou Sports and barber Kitamura. Both
made it clear that they were accepting foreigners as customers, and would only kick
them out if they made trouble. Fine. This is a definite improvement over our last
visit in April, 2000. We then got warmed up at Japan's northernmost onsen, "Doumu",
which, being run by Wakkanai City, is open to everyone.

The next day, Friday, May 4, we headed southeast to Monbetsu. There are places there
with "JAPANESE ONLY STORE" signs on their doors in Cyrillic who refuse
all foreigners (see http://www.debito.org/photosubstantiation.html#MONBETSU
and http://www.debito.org/KokoGaHen1.html), and we
wanted to see if there had been any changes after over a year of media attention.
After Ken and Olaf cycled into from Okoppe Town, they tried to enter the "Monbetsu
Onsen, Bijin No Yu" annex of the Monbetsu Prince Hotel, which has displayed
that sign since its opening in December, 2000. Ken and Olaf were initially refused
entry by the crossed arms of the manager, a Mr Hayashi, but once Olaf spoke Japanese
they were let in. After bathing, Olaf tried to talk to Mr Hayashi about the situation,
but the latter refused (even repeatedly denying that he was the manager). Olaf left
feeling very angry at his treatment. "What manager would refuse this? He doesn't
even recognize me as a customer."

Afterwards, when I tried to enter Bijin no Yu by myself, er, with STV and HBC cameras
waiting outside, and a Doshin reporter accompanying inside, I was allowed entry (by
a different man at the counter, not Mr Hayashi)--but only if I was accompanied by
a Japanese. I asked to be allowed in as a Japanese, and was then barred entry. When
both the Doshin reporter and I tried to talk to Mr Hayashi, he refused. So after
showing my passport and ten minutes wait by the counter, I went outside to deliver
the sad news of my refusal due to my race to the cameras. At this point, Mr Hayashi
came out, said he was sorry, and we talked for about two hours about both his side
and our side of this issue. After Mr Hayashi admitted that it might be a little rude
to look at a person's face and immediately refuse him or her entry, I felt that some
progress was made. I asked again if I may bathe. He gave his permission, so I did.
He expressed his intention to leave the exclusionary sign up, but would consider
alternatives. Foreigners who speak Japanese, he stressed, would be let in.

We went around the Monbetsu Hamanasu Bar District that evening with HBC, Doshin,
and STV. We saw a number of those Cyrillic signs, and Olaf and Ken accompanied me
into one of the signposted yakitoriya. It did not refuse us (nor made any initial
negative gestures), and were most welcoming after they saw we spoke Japanese. We
talked with the Mama there, who told us of some of the problems she'd had, and quite
by happenstance we met the new spokesperson for the Restaurateur's Association, a
Mr Nishioka, at the counter. After a friendly exchange of views (the Association
considers the City irresponsible for not taking enough action to increase communication,
such as issuing Russian pamphlets outlining bar rules and manners), the Association
acknowledged the signs were not an especially great way to tackle the problem, and
are waiting for (but will not force) its members to take down their signs. "Many
have--less than 40 remain," they said. Compared to the hundred or so last July,
this is an improvement, but the last fifty since the year started are taking their
time.

I went to three more bars, but fortunately did not receive in any place the nasty
reception seen in Koko Ga Hen. I even spent about three hours having beers at one,
and we got a TV interview with one of the Mamas explaining the hows and whys of the
situation. None of the bars surveyed, however, expressed an intention to remove its
signs.

A more detailed report is to follow when I have time, but we did get at least one
newspaper and TV report on this. (http://www.debito.org/doshin050401.jpg)
I also kept Kyodo Tsushin updated daily. The assessment I gave the press:

I felt the situation has only somewhat improved. The blanket refusal system has been
ameliorated, but the requirement for Japanese language, along with signs which explicitly
exclude by nationality, creates the potential for confusion. Moreover, having the
press along may have biased our sample somewhat--if we were average Joes (or JETs),
the outcome might have been different. Still, the fact is that we were not refused
anywhere, and that, hopefully, is a sign of progress.

That's all. Sorry this report is so rushed. I have a lot of irons in the fire at
the moment.